I almost had lunch with Peter Shankman the other day, but his client cancelled on him so he cancelled on me. He did promise to reschedule our lunch, though, so I can easily forgive him and look forward to getting together the next time he visits his client near here.

So, who’s Peter Shankman, you ask? Well, he’s what some would call a “serial entrepreneur.” Or perhaps he’s just a lunatic who has jumped out of one too many airplanes. Either way, he’s got some great ideas and some terrific accomplishments

What I wanted specifically to talk about is a new connection community of his that is very cool and useful to business professionals and members of the media–his new venture, Help a Reporter (HARO). The premise is simple: reporters need good sources and businessfolk like marketers, publicists, biz owners, etc., want to be experts. So through Peter’s daily emails, journalists can ask for–and receive–sources for their stories.

There is a catch, though–and it’s not money. (In fact, signing up for HARO as either a journalist or a source is free.) The catch is that you have to reply to a journalist’s query only if your response is on target. Seems a fair trade to me.

And if you aren’t kind and good and, you know, on target, you may find yourself summarily barred from being on the list–and possibly losing out on the opportunity to be a source in an article. Just ask the viaticals lady who willingly signed up for the service then dissed Peter for sending the emails she had signed up for! Yikes! (Frankly, the comments on this blog entry are hilarious!)

So, if you have a business or an expertise in something that you want to share potentially with a journalist–or you’re a journalist looking to find sources for a story–sign up now. I myself have responded to a few journalists with sources appropriate to their requests–and I get nothing out of that except the joy of knowing/hoping that I’ve helped. As a former journalist, I can tell you that finding credible sources, especially on a tight deadline, isn’t that easy to do. I would have been happy in those pre-email/pre-internet dinosaur days if someone had set up a service like this.

So go on. Help a Reporter Out now. Here’s an interview of Peter discussing HARO with David Brain, CEO of Edelman Europe.

A very good friend of mine, a history professor, was in town from the west coast and we spent the day in Philadelphia doing the touristy things—The Constitution Center, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’s house and the like.

When we were in the gift shop at Independence Hall, we saw a book about the love and legacy of John and Abigail Adams. Tom looked at the book and said there was only one problem with it—the picture on the dustcover was John’s son, John Quincy! As we walked around the shop, we saw many items on display related to the elder Adams, along with the book, that perpetuated the error. I told Tom that since I didn’t have the breadth of knowledge of history that he had (and neither do most folks) I never would have known if he hadn’t been there to point it out. Considering his specialty is U.S. history, I highly respect his expertise. (I guess it really pays to take a history professor along when viewing history!)

What does this have to do with writing, you’re probably asking? Quite a bit.

I read something today that talked about the top 10 errors people make in business writing. Most of the errors are related to spelling—typos, “aural errors” (those sound-alike words weather/whether, there/their, write/right), compound words and contractions. Other errors had to do with prepositions, double negatives, word choice (including slang) and verb form. I’d even go so far as to add these common mistakes to the list: passive voice, lack of agreement, improper punctuation, sentence fragments and lack of transitions.

Most people don’t recognize these errors and often perpetuate them through lack of expertise. Just like the picture of John Adams; I didn’t know what he looked like and wouldn’t have questioned the picture had it not been for the expertise of my companion.

The expertise that a professional writer brings to her clients is often not something easily quantifiable. You can see the value in proper grammar and punctuation, but only if you know the rules in the first place. What you can’t always see easily is the behind-the-scenes value a professional writer can provide for you. A professional writer can bring out the essence of your product, your service, your company by using the right words to convey the exact thought the reader needs at the time he or she needs it. Writing can be persuasive, educational or informative, to name a few.

And when done well, it shows your business—and you—in the best light. It can: create and extend your image; help to save you money or potentially help you stay out of lawsuits; and can help you to win and promote your business, among other things.

Considering the art of writing is so crucial to your business, why take a chance that you could end up to be like John Adams—the wrong picture on the dustcover?

As a writer, you know that my first words will be more than “Hello, world!”

I envision using my blog to talk about writing and what’s it’s like to be a professional writer, run a professional communications firm, to talk about grammar and punctuation (if I so choose) or just to rant or rave, as the whim moves me.

For now, for my first post, let me just say that writing is hard work. Someone asked recently for my favorite quote and why. I submitted this:

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” Gene Fowler, American journalist and biographer.

Why is it (one of) my favorite(s)? Because too many people think it’s easy and that simply because they know a bunch of words and some of the grammar rules they can write.

I think that sums it up well!